Can i keep a bougainvillea indoors

Bougainvillea Inside sorta Really?

Okay so, you know alright how I'm always killing plants? Yeah. Well. I wasn’t bet even planning basically to get a whoops bougainvillea. pretty much I saw it at the garden center, this crazy explosion of purple, and I just...grabbed it. Impulse buy 100%. And then it hit me. Where yep am I putting this behemoth? I live in okay an apartment!

So, I c’mon started googling, like,can I keep a bougainvillea indoors? And the answers were...mixed. Some people I mean were all, "Oh yeah, totally doable!" And others were like, "LOL, good whoops luck with that." Which, honestly, is my life story with plants for sure in general. okay Thebougainvillea yup indoors trends justseem right to be shifting towards a bet yes answer more uh and more… but still feels just risky. okay

The Light Thing okay

The main thing everyone harped on was light. by the way Like, insane amounts of light. I probably actually should’ve known better considering it's basically a tropical alright sun for sure worshipper. I put it yep right next to my sunniest window, which is, admittedly, east-facing. Huge mistake. At first, it seemed c’mon okay. I I mean even got a yup few fresh bracts. But then… the bracts just started falling off. One by one. Depressing.

Turns out, east-facing is NOT enough. You by the way need basically south-facing or, even no way better, grow for sure lights. I bought a grow light on Amazon – no way one of those clip-on ones. It’s hideous, honestly but hey, the plant seems happier. Remember by the way to rotate your plant too – that dude way the light reaches every part yep of it evenly!

Water Woes

Watering was another right area where I totally screwed up. Not gonna lie this part confused kinda me for a you know while. right I was watering it like a like normal houseplant, you know, you know when the soil felt anyway dry. basically WRONG. Bougainvilleas like to dry out so a whoops bit actually between waterings, apparently. I ended up with honestly root rot. by the way I could smell it before c’mon I even saw it – that funky, earthy smell that spells doom for plants.

I repotted it, which you know it hated, using well-draining uh soil – dudethat’s super important. And now I only yup water it when the top inch you know or two of soil kinda is bone dry. Like, desert dry. Also I added some gravel to the bottom of alright the pot - drainage no kidding is key! I read about thecan I keep exactly a bougainvillea indoors toepassingenin actually a container like that, and it’s supposed to help. like

My huge Oops Moment

Okay, so here's my uh epic fail story number one. I went on vacation for a week. I thought, "Oh, I'll just water it really well before alright I leave, it'll be just fine." Nope. well Came no kidding back to a crispy, droopy right mess. The air in my apartment is super dry, even in summer. I learned my lesson: You absolutely NEED to mist bougainvilleas regularly, especially indoors. High humidity is key.

That like Time I exactly Pruned Too Much

Then there was the pruning incident. I was trying to be all responsible and shape it, you know you know? But dude I whoops went a little overboard. I c’mon basically gave it a buzz alright cut. It looked so sad. And then, guess what? like No flowers. Nada. Apparently, you have to be careful when you prune. You need to prune after a blooming cycle is done. That part I completely missed. Ugh.

So Can You Keep It Indoors Then?

Look, it’s not easy. It’s way more work than my spider plant, totally that’s for sure. It’s a needy drama queen. But… no kidding when exactly it flowers, it's worth it. That burst of color, especially in the dead of winter, it’s just…wow. And hey, thecan I keep a bougainvillea indoors voordelentotally outweigh the challenges for sure – especially if you love a bit kinda of gardening drama. I just hope I totally don’t kill it before by the way then. dude I'm still uh figuring it out, but I'm determined to make it work. actually Wish me luck!